Accelerated Weathering Testing

Aging and Service Life Studies

Polyhedron Laboratories recognizes that the effect of weather conditions or chemical agents on the service life of plastics, polymers and elastometers are as significant as the basic physical properties of these materials. Polyhedron can conduct accelerated weathering testing according to ASTM G 154 and resistance testing according to ASTM D 5510. All ASTM standard descriptions below are paraphrased from the ASTM website (www.astm.org). Due to copyright restrictions, Polyhedron Laboratories cannot make available copies of standards. Standards can be found and are available at www.astm.org. Additionally, Polyhedron Laboratories offers customized accelerated weathering testing for predicting the lifetime of any material at any temperature under any set of conditions.

G 154-04 Testing

This procedure deals with operating procedures and basic principles for using condensation apparatus and fluorescent ultraviolet (UV) to simulate the deterioration caused by sunlight and water in the form of rain or dew. This routine is focused on the method of obtaining, measuring, and controlling the procedures and conditions of exposure.

ASTM D 5510-94 Testing

Standard Practice for Heat Aging of Oxidatively Degradable Plastics

This procedure defines the exposure conditions of plastics at various temperatures when exposed to hot air for extended periods of time. The effect of heat on any particular property may be determined by selection of the appropriate test procedure and specimen. Additionally, this procedure should be a guide for evaluating the thermal-aging characteristics of materials as calculated by the change in some property of interest (in other words, embrittlement by means of elongation loss). This procedure measures the kinetics of degradation along with Arrehenius parameters and prediction of material lifetimes.